Tank 500 gets a mid-life refresh in China

Tank, an SUV manufacturer and part of Great Wall Group, has held a special event in China to unveil a facelifted version of its model number 500. It ended up with only minor visual tweaks and same performance, but a slew of new trim options and equipment. AutoHome.cn believes that it will go on sale in China in September with two hybrid powertrains to choose from.

On the exterior side of things, a reworked radiator grille with new horizontal bars and extra DRL sections under the headlights are the most noticeable changes. The trunk door wears the company’s logo, and some images reveal a LiDAR on the roof. The latter functions as a part of a third-generation ADAS package developed by Great Wall and based on specialized hardware from Hesai. New exterior finish options have also been added.

The front row inside stays pretty much the same, still housing two displays sized 12.3 and 14.6 inches large. The transmission selector has moved from the tunnel to the steering column, freeing up space for two wireless chargers and letting the designers keep the physical buttons around.

The second row ended up with a 17.3-inch, ceiling-mounted drop-down display. The rear seat occupants may use voice commands, gestures or a dedicated smartphone app to control it.

Last but not least, a thermal box was added to the list of options with a temperature range of –6…+50 ºC (+21…+122 ºF).

According to AutoHome.cn, there will be two different hybrid powertrains to choose between – Hi4-T and Hi4-Z. Both utilize the same 2.0-liter turbo engine and offer up to 200 km (124 miles) of electric range. Power in the top spec reaches 877 PS (865 hp / 645 kW).